UNKNOWN

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 226, 24 September 1929, Page 18

UNKNOWN

PREVENTING BURNING BEARINGS.

CHANGES ADD TO MILEAGE

SELECT BRAND WITH CARE,

(By F. 0. GUERRLICH, in "New York

Herald-Tribune.")

Of course, the first care'of the oiling system is to eee that there'is the proper amount of ail in the crank case. Of all the things you must do to take care 1 of your car, here is one of which you dare not be negligent. A burned-out bearing will mean that the entire, .engine, must be dismantled, and it is safe to say that this will mean at least a.- t week's.,work for a good mechanic and .some.for his helper. , | ,

You must keep an eye on your oil. gauge and eight glass on the dash/-so M to be sure the pump is working properly. Many a bearing has been burned out because of a failure of the oil pump. As a rule, when the bearings-do. nort get oil, they will first bind, and so put a great load on the engine. When your engine labours on the level,'as though'it were on a steep grade, and especially if it gets hot and knocks, lopk\.to:.your" oil system, as this is a sign. of lack, of lubrication. ' '"-."

Care of Oil Selection,

I would advise all owners to find out.

what grade and brand of oil works best with their engine, and then to buy thisoil in sealed, labelled cans. The gas

engine is a heat engine, and it takes .'an =. extremely high grade of oil to lubricate 1 properly where the temperature is as j high as it is on this : type of engine. ! A poor grade of oil will decompose •1 or "crack" into its elements, hydrogen '■ and carbon, as soon as it comes in con- ; tact with the hot parts. This carbon 1 will be deposited on the piston and j cylinder head and On the valves, where' 5 it will become white hot and often ignite - the gases before the piston has come ; up on its compression stroke, and so'try i to drive the pistons back in the wrong' ; direction. This will cause what is' known* ;as the "carbon knock." The carbon will : also get between the piston rings and ' often cause them to stick. When the oil, no matter how good, gets

past the piston ringe and into the combustion chamber in any quantity it will • carbonise, as there is no oil which will I stand the heat found there. Because I auto engine oil must be so high grade I the habit of stopping at the first garage ; and asking for a quart or a pint of "< light, heavy or medium oil is a bad one. i All garage owners are not high prini eipled, and many, especially those cater- '. ing to the transient tourist trade, will ; buy only'the oil on which there is the i most profit. Wherever practicable, buy , in a sealed, labelled can. No Rule Is Given.

As to the proper weight or grade of oil, no,proper rule can be given, as many things enter to decide this, such as piston clearance, compression space, type, of engine and kind of oiling system, speed, etc.

A number of the large oil companies have made tests on different cars and have got out booklets in which they give a table showing the proper grade of oil to use for all cars and models for many years back. Your supply dealer probably can furnish you with one of these. Your instruction book also will tell you what grade of oil to use. Most engines require a heavier oil in the summer time than in the winter time. In practically all of the presentday care the oil is used over and over again. In time this oil, even though a little is added now and then, becomes thin and will have lost most of its viscosity and lubricating properties. For this reason the oil should be drained out of the crank case about every 500 miles and fresh oil poured in. This is not a hard job, and will often result in the elimination of carbon trouble. System of Drainage.

To drain off the oil there is always a

plug in the bottom of the crank case. Uenerally this is simply a square-headed plug, but sometimes it is hollow plug, requiring a socket wrench for its removal.

Let me appeal to all car owners to change the oil in the crank caee every 500 miles. From an experiment the writer once made he can say that, ignoring the question of repairs, this is cheaper than to run a long time without changing the oil. Thus he found that after changing the oil he could run nearly 500 miles before it was necessary. to add oil, but after 1000 miles a quart of oil was required about every 100 miles, the oil having become so thin \ that it got by the pistons and was largely consumed in the combustion chamber. With the "free crank case service" to be had everywhere to-day there is no excuse for not changing the ' oil regularly and often. Do this and you will get from 30,000 to 40,000 miles before the bearings will need tightening.